History of Montpelier Banks
The News-Examiner, Thursday, 27 February 1958, page 3
by A M Rich
In 1891 the Bank of Montpelier was established by G C Gray; it
was located on Washington Street, a half block west of Eighth Street. He
was the first banker to have confidence in the future of the city and through
his conservative management the bank became a sound venture winning the
confidence of the people. (Montpelier Examiner, December 20, 1907)
The needs of the valley were so inviting that a second bank, the First National Bank was established in 1904, through the efforts of E A Burrell. In 1907 its capital surplus and undivided profits amounted to over $60,000. Both of these early banking enterprises met the same fate. During the recession years of the early 1920s, the Bank of Montpelier made some bad investments and loans and had a period of heavy withdrawals. On August 12, 1924, its doors were closed and the oldest bank in the State of Idaho, bearing charter number one, was out of business. The total assets were listed as $397,413.95 but many were listed as bad and liquidation was to be at fifty to sixty cents on the dollar.
On February 26, 1925, for similar reasons, the First National Bank closed its doors and Montpelier was without a bank. A movement to organize a new bank was led by a committee consisting of George Ashley, H B Whitman, Ed C Rich, A A Vealey, M J Davis and J R Brennan. Their efforts were successful and the Eccles-Browning Bank of Montpelier opened its doors on August 1, 1925, occupying the building formerly owned by the Bank of Montpelier. M S Eccles was president and director with the other officers as follows: M A Browning, director; J C Rich, director and T McJilto, cashier and director. The bank opened with a combined capital and surplus of $60,000.
Mr. Frank Sorgatz, former manager of the First Security Bank, stated that the marble columns on the front of the building were imported from Sweden. In its statement of condition in the Examiner on October 1, 1925, its total resources were listed at $194,000.